WASHINGTON — Federal authorities Wednesday charged a Boston-area man with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists as part of a plot to “kill, kidnap, maim or injure” people — including U.S. officials — overseas and in the United States.

Prosecutors and FBI agents said that from 2001 to 2008, Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, Mass., conspired with at least two men to carry out an Islamist holy war, or jihad. That included discussions about killing two prominent U.S. politicians, attacking American troops in Iraq and shooting at shoppers in U.S. malls, according to those authorities and detailed FBI affidavits that were unsealed Wednesday in connection with the case.

The charges against Mehanna were announced by the acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, Michael K. Loucks, and Warren T. Bamford, the FBI special agent in charge of the Boston field office.

Mehanna was arrested Wednesday at his parents’ home in Sudbury, an upscale suburb west of Boston. A federal judge ordered him held until an Oct. 30 hearing after Mehanna — described as a pharmacy college graduate — initially refused to stand to hear the charges against him.

According to prosecutors and two lengthy FBI affidavits filed in support of the charges, the three men discussed their desire to participate in “violent jihad against American interests” and “to die on the battlefield.”

Mehanna had “multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and randomly shooting people in shopping malls,” Loucks said, adding that their plan was thwarted when they could get only handguns, not the automatic weapons that they believed were necessary for an attack at a mall.

One senior federal law-enforcement official said the alleged conspiracy was not nearly as far along, or as “operational,” as one allegedly headed by a Denver-area Afghan native, Najibullah Zazi, 24.

Federal authorities said the new investigation is part of a nationwide hunt for individuals in the U.S. who are going to Somalia to fight with al-Qaeda-linked militants trying to overthrow the U.S.-backed government there.

If convicted on the material support charge, Mehanna faces as many as 15 years in prison. His attorney was identified as J.W. Carney Jr., who was not available for comment.

Authorities in Boston said Mehanna sought, but never received, training in terrorist camps despite several trips overseas. They identified one alleged co-conspirator as Ahman Abousamra, who is now believed to be in Syria.

The complaint also alleges that the men attempted to radicalize others and inspire each other by, among other things, watching and distributing jihad videos. Sometime in recent years, the alleged plot escalated, according to the complaint and affidavits, and Mehanna and the co-conspirators had multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and randomly shooting people in a mall.

Authorities said the conversations went as far as discussing the logistics of a mall attack, including coordination, weapons needed and the possibility of attacking emergency responders.

Authorities would not say which, if any, malls had been targeted by the men. They also would not provide details about which politicians allegedly were targeted but suggested that they were members of the executive branch who are no longer in office. They also declined to provide details about any potential attacks on U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.

They also did not identify another alleged conspirator who appears to be cooperating in the investigation.

More in News

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats on Friday introduced a resolution to block the national emergency declaration that President Donald Trump issued to fund his long-sought wall along the U.S-Mexico border.

What do you do in a rental market where seemingly every new apartment building is offering a boatload of amenities and high-end finishes? If you're Charleston, S.C.-based apartment developer Greystar you double down and build an extra luxury project.